Adrian Fenty will have to wait at least a month before learning whether he will enjoy a $152,000 annual salary as the District’s next mayor, or a more executive-like $200,000 a year.
Mayor Anthony Williams’ emergency measure to raise the mayor’s salary by $48,000 was set aside Wednesday until the council can hold public hearings. If approved, the raise would not take affect until Williams leaves office Jan. 2.
“I really do think matters of compensation for elected officials should be vetted in a public hearing,” said outgoing Ward 6 Council Member Sharon Ambrose. “I just think it’s not good business to do it as an emergency.”
Emergency measures are adopted without hearings and take effect immediately.
Fenty, the Democratic nominee for mayor, recused himself from the debate, as did Vincent Gray, the incoming council chairman. Both positions’ salaries are tied to the federal schedule, but the D.C. charter allows the council to change the compensation — though only during a transition period.
“In short, the proposed salary increase would bring the Mayor’s salary more in line with those of other big-city mayors and reflect the unique state, county, and local responsibilities of the Mayor of the District of Columbia,” Williams wrote in a letter to council.
In the same emergency bill is $250,000 for the mayoral transition and another $150,000 for Gray’s transition into the chairman’s office. Council Chair Linda Cropp said she would hold a hearing in the coming weeks and bring the measure back for consideration in mid-November.
During that hearing, Ward 8 Council Member Marion Barry said he’d also like to “research” a pay raise for himself and his council colleagues “because those haven’t changed” in some time, he said. But Cropp indicated that mid-term council members — Barry was elected in 2004 — cannot benefit from a salary hike until after their re-election.
